Chris Dyson's Travel Blog

I have made some google earth animations to show 2 of my planned holidays in 2019. The first of which is organised for April in Europe and will be travelling through the Balkans Region. A video of this can be found below: Then in the summer of 2019 in August I will travel west for the first time to the North East of the USA and up into Canada. A video of this can be found below: So if all goes to plan by the end of 2019 I will be above 40 different countries visited. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel here so when they go live next year you will be able to see my journey as I plan to make a daily video for each trip. Looking to book a hotel anywhere in the world? Use the link below and you will receive 10% back after your stay. https://www.booking.com/s/35_6/7d62e267 Sign up and stay with Airbnb using the link below for £25 in travel credit on a future booking. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/c/chrisd12290 Social Media Info: YouTube -  https://www.youtube.com/

If you are looking to book a hotel you can use the following link below. You will receive 10% of your booking back after your stay. https://www.booking.com/s/35_6/7d62e267 Alternatively if you sign up and stay with Airbnb using my referral link below, you will receive £25 in travel credit for a future booking. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/c/chrisd12290 If you would like to earn some extra cash online via PayPal, you can do so buy filling out online surveys. I have been using 2 companies below that allow you to do this. Prolific - https://www.prolific.ac/p?ref=MBT12PBM Swagbucks - http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/chrisdyson16 Another good way to earn money is to play Poker and enter freerolls. I use many different companies some of which I have linked below. 888 Poker - https://www.888.me/Dysonic18 Unibet - https://www.unibet.co.uk/ Coral Poker -  www.coral.co.uk/Poker Party Poker - www.partypoker.com/‎ Finally there is a mobile app I recently downloaded called Lucky Day which yo

Today I would be heading back home to the UK after spending a week travelling around Romania. The airport transfer pickup was 03:45am and was only a quick drive to the airport, ready for my first flight just after 6am to Munich, Germany. I would be flying once again with Lufthansa and it was on time departing Cluj-Napoca. The airport was quite small so everything ran smoothly with the gates and boarding. A few hours later I landed in Germany and had a couple of hours to pass the time. I had to change terminals so this helped before leaving on the final flight of the journey home to the UK. I eventually landed in Manchester just after 09:30am. I collected my luggage and waited for my train home. I enjoyed my time in Romania, but I don't think it will challenge my top 3 countries that I have visited. With no current plans for the rest of the year, it's time to earn some money again ready for next year. A video of my journey home can be found here:

We had breakfast at 08:30am this morning and it would be our last full day together as a group of 10. We departed Apuseni National Park at 10am and by lunchtime after a couple of hours driving we were in Cluj-Napoca. We were fortunate enough to be able to check-in early as the hotel had everything ready for us. St. Michael's Church in Cluj-Napoca. We took our luggage to the rooms and then had a walking tour around the city. A few of the key buildings in the city were under renovation unfortunately, so a few photos didn't turn out as well as they would normally. After walking for around 90 minutes we broke away for lunch. Japanese section of the Botanical Garden. In the afternoon I walked to the Botanical Garden. It was nice walking around here as the sun came out at just the right time. The Japanese part was of interest as it reminded me of my time in Asia last year. As the evening approached I grabbed a Subway for dinner as my flight the following day was a 03:45

The group had the chance for a good rest this morning as breakfast was not until 08:30am. At 09:30am most of the group went on a hike to get some nice views of the lake in Apuseni national park. After around 3km we split and a few people turned back. 5 people including myself continued on to do another 14km around the park before arriving back at the lodge around 13:30pm just in time for some lunch. Low water levels on the lake in Apuseni National Park. In the afternoon we had the chance to rest around the lodge, where there was a tennis court, table tennis table and an indoor swimming pool. We met up again the evening for dinner after enjoying some time to ourselves. Indoor swimming pool. A video from this day can be found here:

We started the morning by walking around the town centre of Sighisoara. We arrived around 18:30pm the previous night so it was nice to see the different shades of colours on the buildings in the morning sunlight. Just after 09:30am we started the long drive to the next destination of Alba Iulia. The colourful buildings around Sighisoara. We walked around the grounds of the citadel and also got our lunch here. The city has an overall population of about 63,500. At 14:30pm we were back on the road again heading towards Apuseni national park where we will stay for the next 2 nights. An entrance gate to Alba Iulia citadel. We arrived just before 18:30pm to check in with our group dinner 1 hour later. There are lots of activities around the guest house such as table tennis and a swimming pool. A video of this day can be found here:

We had a slightly later start to the day with breakfast at 07:45am. We had a small selection of cereals and continental meats to choose from at the guest house before loading the coach to leave at 08:15am. Our first stop of the day was only 30 minutes away at a bear sanctuary. The Libearty sanctuary in Zarnesti has just under 100 rescued bears which are looked after and is located around 25km south of Brasov. Construction of the site started in 2005 and has over 70 hectares of land. 2 rescued bears at the Libearty Sanctuary. After a small rest stop at a service station we were back on the road again to Brasov. We would have a 1 hour walking tour here, then enjoyed some free time to further explore and get some lunch. At 2pm we gathered near the town centre fountain and departed Brasov on the coach. The central square in Brasov. In the afternoon we made our way along some bumpy roads to a place called Viscri. We had a tour around a local blacksmith and had chance to ri

We loaded our luggage after our 2 nights stay in Bucharest and made our journey to the next destination on the itinerary. It would be around a 2 hour drive which would take us to Sinaia Monastery. The monastery has 2 courtyards and is surrounded by the lower buildings. The original church was built in 1695. We then walked further taking a look at the stunning Peles castle. We were only allowed to admire it from the distance as there filming taking place inside the grounds. A view of Peles Castle from the side. We continued on the motorway before hitting some roadworks. We were pushed for time as it was now October and Bran castle's last admission was 4pm during the winter season, but we made it just in time. Bran castle is where the legend of Dracula could be based on. The fortress is located on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, almost in the very centre of Romania. Inside of Bran Castle. After leaving the castle we then drove 10 minutes around the cor

We met in lobby at 8am after getting our first breakfast of the tour. After a quick day briefing we had a short drive to our first planned stop by 8:30am which was the Romanian Athenaeum concert hall. We briefly checked out a few other buildings and monuments before making our way to the Palace of Parliament building. Inside the Bucharest Palace of Parliament. This is the 2nd largest parliament building in the world behind the Pentagon in the USA. The architecture inside is very impressive as we explored the many rooms. We finished the tour by looking out from the balcony over the city of Bucharest. A view from the balcony of Palace of Parliament. Next we then drove to Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum. This is an outdoor museum located in the Herăstrău Park showing traditional Romanian village life. We spent about an hour here before driving to Bucharest's Old Town in the late morning. We explored some more key buildings before we had some free time in the afte

I had a very early 03:30am wake up on a Saturday morning to make my way to the train station and then onwards to Manchester airport just after 7am. Today I would be flying to Frankfurt in Germany before connecting onto Bucharest, Romania. Waiting to board a Lufthansa flight at Manchester Airport. Everything was on time and the whole process went smoothly. There was a gate change during the connection but I navigated my way easily to the new location. After both flights there was somebody waiting for me in the arrivals hall just after 6pm ready to transfer me to the hotel. After a long day of travelling I rested up ready for the tour ahead, with a morning city tour planned tomorrow. A video of this day can be found below:  

I am now just a few weeks away from my journey to Romania. I am flying with Lufthansa this time connecting via Germany, before landing in Bucharest in the evening. There should be somebody waiting for me at the airport to transfer me to the hotel. The first day is a city tour of Bucharest in the morning, and then after lunch I have a free afternoon. I have no plans currently for the afternoon, so I will speak to the local guides recommendations or make a walking route for myself on google maps. The following day we make our way to Transylvania to check out Bran castle. I look forward to the stories about Dracula, as this is what Bram Stoker's book is based on. In the evening we make our way to Moieciu, where we stay overnight with a dinner included. On Day 4 we travel to a bear sanctuary where rescued bears are looked after. Romania is home to approx 40% of all European bears. In the afternoon we visit the old town of Brasov where we will walk to see some of the local sights

It has been over a month since I returned from my holiday to South Africa. I have created a playlist on YouTube with all 14 of the videos which can be found here . Photos from this trip can also be found in an album on Imgur here . Looking ahead to the next 12 months of travel, I currently have 3 trips planned which includes several new countries. Coming up soon in the Autumn/Fall I have a week planned in Romania. This is a group tour with Explore.co.uk and can be found here . This will be country number 33 I have visited and will most likely be my last trip of the year. Even further ahead next year I have 2 big tours planned. In the spring I plan to tour the Balkans and surrounding areas. The tour starts in Athens, Greece and travels through 10 different countries in 16 days. I have been to a couple of them before but the majority will be new cities and countries to explore for the first time. In the summer of 2019 I plan to fly to the North East of the USA for the first time as

The tour was officially over but half of the group had decided to do the optional half day Johannesburg city tour as our flights were not until the evening. We met in the lobby and left just after 8:30am. The guide pointed out various buildings as we drove into the city before arriving at Constitution Hill, the site of a former prison. We walked around here and then next door there was also a constitutional court. Constitution Hill prison cells. We continued our drive passing over Nelson Mandela bridge. The guide pointed out some more key buildings before stopping at Carlton centre which has 50 floors. At the base is a shopping mall and if you go up the elevator, you get to the 'The top of Africa' viewpoint. This has been the tallest office building in Africa since 1973. After this we made our way back to the hotel to collect our suitcases. View of Johannesburg on the 50th floor of Carlton Centre. After a late lunch I made my way to the airport via a free shuttle b

Our final full day as a group together started with breakfast just after 6am. We left just before 7am knowing we had a long drive day ahead of us after this morning activities. The day would consist of 4 short stops for photos and lunch before pressing onto Johannesburg. Blyde River Canyon, Three Rondavels. Our first stop was at Blyde River Canyon to see the Three Rondavels. The canyon is 25 kilometres in length and is around 750 metres deep on average. We then made a short drive onto Bourke's Luck Potholes. This is a p opular geological site formed by years of water erosion. Bourke's Luck Potholes. Next on the agenda was to travel to Lisbon falls. The Lisbon Falls are the highest waterfalls in the Mpumalanga province. We were then due to stop at 'God's Window' viewpoint but unfortunately the clouds moved in and we were unable to see the view. This instead turned into a 10 minute browse for some souvenirs from the locals. We then made our way to the

Today most of the group would be doing a sunset game drive with barbecue dinner included, so we all had a good sleep with no real rush to get up. Most people used this opportunity to relax around the hotel pool or sit in the sunshine. After a relaxing day we all met in the lobby at 4pm. After a short delay we transferred to the Kruger National Park for our third and final time. African sunset. Our group of 20 made our way to a spot to get a great photo of the sunset. We had a target of around 7pm for the dinner so we continued to explore. We went to the same spot where we saw the leopard yesterday and we were lucky enough to see it feasting on the Impala in the tree. It was amazing to watch this happen in the wild right in front of our eyes. After the light had faded we stopped at our designated dinner spot and enjoyed a meal in the middle of the park. We had an armed guard on standby at all times. I was able to also use this opportunity to take some fantastic stargazing photos.

We started the day by meeting in the hotel lobby at 05:30am to collect our breakfast boxes. We would be spending another full day in the Kruger National Park, only this time in an open vehicle instead of the coach. As soon as the winter sun had risen we had some early sightings of elephants and some rhinos with birds on their backs. Another morning highlight would be seeing a warthog waking up from its hole and wandering off into the bush. One new animal we didn't sew yesterday was a honey badger. A warthog just waking up out of a hole. We took a morning break at Tshokwane, which is the same place that we used as a rest stop yesterday. No hyena to be seen today but the monkeys were back trying to steal an apple from somebody who wasn't looking. In the late morning we would have many giraffe sightings as well as the usual impala's. Just when things were looking quiet we saw 3 elephants running to the watering hole. We took a break once again for lunch at Skukuza know

We started the day just after 07:30am by leaving the Bundu lodge and made our way to the Kruger National Park. After our morning rest stop to buy snacks and use the ATM's for the final time we entered the park just after 10:30am. Entering at the Paul Kruger Gate. Our very first sighting was a group elephants which we saw just before we even entered the park via the Paul Kruger gate. As the morning progressed we saw many impala, kudu, crocodiles, zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, lion, giraffes and more elephants crossing the road right in front of our coach. We took a 40 minute break for lunch at Skukuza rest camp before getting back to spotting the animals. Elephants crossing the road in front of the coach. Hyena at the rest stop picnic area. In the afternoon we saw a wild hyena just outside the restroom, adding warthogs and even a rare leopard hunting impala's as one of the last things we saw for the day. We managed to see 'the big 5' all in 1 day so we we

Another early start at 05:30am as we made our way to George airport. We checked in and waited for boarding after 8am to make the 2 hour flight to Johannesburg airport. The landing was aborted for safety reasons as another plane made its way onto the runway, but there was no drama on the 2nd attempt. We then picked up two more people on the new coach and made the long drive towards Nelspruit. Kulula flight to Johannesburg. We made a stop at Alzu petroport service station, which had many animals at the rear of the facilities. I think most people would agree that this is the best service station they had ever been to. Various animals at Alzu petroport service station. We continued our long drive day eventually arriving at Bundu lodge around 17:30pm. We checked in and briefly had a walk around the grounds looking at some of the free roaming small animals. Dinner was set for 7pm and we looked forward to the upcoming 3 days at Kruger National Park. A video of today can be view

The day started just after 7am as we made our way to Oudtshoorn to an ostrich farm. The farm breeds ostriches as well as the chance to feed them or even ride them if you are under 75kg. We also had Ostrich meat for our lunch at the same place. Highgate Ostrich farm. In the afternoon we moved onto the Cango Caves. Most of the group did the standard heritage tour, and 5 people did the more challenging Adventure tour. This is one of South Africa's best limestone caves and attracts many visitors from all over the world each year. Cango Caves. We then drove a further 15 minutes to end the day at our overnight lodge. Dinner was served and shortly after, some of the group enjoyed an optional star gazing guide. It was a clear night so those that joined would have had the best visibility possible for viewing. I was happy looking at the stars with my eyes as I am familiar with where to look for some of the planets. A video of this day can be viewed below:

The day started at 8am after breakfast and we had 4 optional excursions to choose from this morning. I chose to do Treetop canopy zip-lining in Tsitsikamma instead of bungee jumping, hiking or a trail drive. We had a quick safety briefing and basic training on how to operate the zip-line. I attached a camera to my helmet to hopefully get some good footage. In total there was 10 platforms to descend from varying in length, height and speed. It was a good experience and I would recommend to others if you have never done something like it before. Me on the zip-line in Tsitsikamma. Later in the morning we left for Storms River Mouth to hike a trail and walk across the suspension bridges. Most of the group ordered some lunch so it would be ready for after the 1 hour hike. In total we spent around 2 hours here before driving on at 2pm. Unfortunately we encountered a flat tyre on the coach and we had a long delay on route to the hotel in the afternoon. We spent the better part of 3 ho

We checked out of the hotel at 7am after breakfast and we were on our way to the Botlierskop Private Game Reserve. Here we have the chance to see many different animals including 4 of the so called 'big 5'. We were all able to fit in one vehicle, so all 22 of us plus a driver set off to explore the large area of land to see what we could find. This activity would last around 3 hours total, and despite been very bumpy at certain times, I feel everybody enjoyed it. We were lucky enough to see everything we had hoped to see and several more animals. A lion at Botlierskop Private Game Reserve. Knysna boat cruise. In late morning we made our way to Knysna for a boat cruise. This also had a restaurant which we took advantage of and had lunch on. In the afternoon we visited either Monkeyland or Birds of Eden. I chose Monkeyland and I feel like that was a good decision. There are 11 different species of monkey here and the guide had good knowledge of each one. A group

Today I had to wake up very early for a 04:45am pickup to go shark cage diving in Gansbaai. It was R2300/£132 which may seem expensive, but for a once in a lifetime experience i feel it would be worth it. We arrived at Gansbaai, got checked in and received a life jacket to make our way out to sea. It took around 10-15 minutes to get out to a good location for shark sightings. We were lucky and we only had to wait around 10 minutes to see a shark. Everybody rushed to the side of the boat and the first group made their way into the cage. In the water for shark cage diving. The sharks are attracted by using chum. The chumming process consists of mixing fish parts, bone and blood together and using this as bait. The cage held 10 people and there was 9 of us who chose to do it from my tour so we all went in together to make up the 3rd group in the water. We were just meters from the sharks and we saw 4 total in the few hours we were out at sea for. I took photos/videos from the top